Jingle Bells (Natalia)

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It was Christmas Eve, and Andy was sitting at the piano in the classroom on the first floor where the Orchestra practiced. She didn't play, really, but she could read music and knew enough that she could tickle the ivories a little. Her violin wasn't her... because she hadn't mended either of her old ones or gotten a new one yet.

She had destroyed them both. The first was in the Spring, when she had almost cursed Albus. The second was on November 25th, almost a month ago, when she had attacked the people that killed Susans father. Now, she had nothing. At least not at the moment.

So, she sat at the piano, gently plucking out 'Jingle Bells' on the keys.

@natalia

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It was Christmas Eve, and Natalia was seeing her sister for the first time since the summer. She had been so busy, and Andromeda had been busy, too. But today, Natalia was going to see her sister, and that was – she didn’t even have the word. Natalia was clutching a packet of sheet music tight to her chest, on which the song she had composed for her sister was written. The papers had been checked by one of the Aurors on duty to make sure there weren’t any encoded messages in them, which had set Natalia’s teeth on edge. She couldn’t help but feel like she was wearing a badge of shame in the form of her surname. She had told Andy that she wasn’t looking to change her last name, but maybe, she would. In any case, Natalia was searching the castle for her sister, and there was only one place she had left to look: the orchestra room. Sure enough, when Natalia opened the doors, her sister was sitting on the bench, playing Jingle Bells on the piano there. “Hi, Andy.”

@lestrange

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"Hi, Andy." Andy spun around when she heard the voice, jumping slightly even though it was familiar. "Nat," she breathed, one of her hands still on the keys and her other hand resting on her knee, "hi." For a moment she didn't move, then she stood, remembering that embracing was kind of a thing sisters did in greeting. She loved Nat, too, so of course she wanted to be near her. Still, it was hard for Andy to be near anyone at times.

She moved to walk toward her sister, "happy Christmas," she greeted upon reaching her. She lifted her arms but didn't complete the hug, allowing room for Natalie to not take it if she didn't want to.

@natalia

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Natalia smiled when her sister said her name, and responded with her own greeting. Andy stayed sitting for a moment, which was fine with Nat, but she was even happier when her sister got up and opened her arms, though she didn’t close the last of the distance between the two of them. Nat was happy to do that, though, stepping close to Andy and wrapping her arms around her sister. She pulled back for a moment and smiled, giving her sister a once over. “You look well.” Nat said warmly. “I didn’t know what to give you for Christmas, so I decided to write you a song. If that’s okay with you.” Nat gestured at the piano, indicating that she wanted to play.

@lestrange

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Nat completed the hug and Andy wrapped her arms around her. Andy didn't realize that she needed that hug so badly until it was happening. She felt that rock her throat again but her chest and stomach were warm, filling with the light from Natalia.

Too soon for Andy, apparently, Natalie pulled away to look her over, speaking of how she looked well and then mentioning a gift. A song. Andy's eyes widened slightly and she turned her head to look at the piano, then turned back to Natalia. She simply nodded, taking a step back to clear the path for Nat.

@natalia

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Andy nodded when Nat offered the gift of the song, and the older Lestrange sister sat down at the piano bench, opening the folder and taking out the sheet music she had painstakingly written over many long hours sitting in Dominic Maestro's shop. Her fingers rested on the keys, and Natalia took a deep breath before beginning to play. She knew that it was a technically proficient song, but she had never really found a way to make it emotionally resonate - until now. This song was her story, and her sister's story. It was a story of love and loss and heartache and separation, but mostly, it was a story of how two people who were fundamentally different and fundamentally flawed could still love each other. It was a love story, but not the love story people thought of when they heard Natalia's name. It wasn't the story of how she fell in love with James, but of how she fell in love with her sister. When it ended, Natalia didn't turn to look at And, afraid that she would burst into tears. Instead, she sat there, letting the last notes hang in the air for just a moment more.

@lestrange

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Andy was standing, at first, as her sister started to play. She listened to the music, and felt her fingers start to twitch. For one, it reminded her of how her violin was her saving grace during their childhood and how she wished she was holding one now. She wanted to contribute to this, but she also felt like she couldn't move other than the slight twitching of those fingers. Visions crossed her mind with the music... growing up, hating Natalia and Nik most days until they started to find that freedom, and it seemed the song did too. She felt like she could almost see what moments in the music matched moments in real life.

She didn't realize that she had sat down sideways on one of the other orchestra chairs, or that her knuckles clasping the back of the chair were turning white from holding it so tightly. When the music stopped, it still was inside her. Especially in the silence that followed. She didn't move, at first, but instead just bowed her head and let out a breath.

"Wow," she finally said in a whisper.

@natalia

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Natalia sat on the bench, listening to the blood pound in her ears, when she heard Andy let out a soft breath. Everything seemed to be slipping out of focus, Andy fading behind a curtain of tears and then sharpening back up again when Nat blinked at the tears fell down her cheeks. After the silence ended with Andy’s soft ‘wow’, Nat turned around to face her sister, tears still trickling down her cheeks despite Natalia’s resolve not to cry. “Did you like it?” The questioned seemed totally unnecessary, especially because even if she hated the song, Nat didn’t think that Andy would say so to her sister’s face, especially not when the older girl was crying. Nat couldn’t remember the last time she had cried in front of Andy. It would have been several months ago, since they hadn’t seen each other since school had started, and then before then, too…Had it been a year? Nat didn’t know, but she didn’t care, because she was crying now, and that felt big, even if the tears were happy ones.

@lestrange

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Nat turned around and Andy didn't realize she was smiling. She nodded at her sisters question and moved forward to wrap her arms around her. "I love it, and you," she muttered in between short sobs, tightening her grip on Natalia before realizing that her sister might want to stand up. She pulled back just a little, looking back at Nats face. She had already felt her and Nat had a breakthrough in their relationship before this but... this almost felt like another one. Like Andy really, really understood what her older sister was now. And what her older sister thought of her. They were one, they were the same. Andy never knew that.

@natalia

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This moment was surreal. Andromeda loved her. The words had always been there, in the negative space between them, but to have them said, out loud, as she cried in front of her sister for the first time in over a year, was such a strange experience. Nat didn’t know what to say, so she just wrapped her arms around her sister, trying not to get any tears on Andy’s neck as she buried her face in the crook of it. “I love you too.” Nat said quietly. “I don’t know why I’m crying, though.” She said, her breath catching a little in her throat as she laughed at herself and her own inability to process emotions. Some things never changed.

@lestrange

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Andy didn't even realize she'd said she loved her sister. Natalia returned it, and said she didn't know why she was crying. Andy chuckled a little along with her sister and shook her head a little, "maybe because we never let ourselves," Andy guessed squeezing her sisters shoulders with both hands, "at least not in front of people. Especially... each other," she admitted sheepishly, letting out another soft and embarrassed chuckle. "But people change. I've changed," for worse and for better.

@natalia

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Nat nodded when Andy said that they’d never let themselves cry. They had both been princesses sculpted from marble, taught to be unfeeling. It had worked so well for them, up until last year. Nat still shuddered to think of herself as the ice princess, shuddered to think of how many times she had frozen her face in a smile or a smirk or a straight line because it was the easiest way to keep people out and keep them from hurting her. “I know you have.” Nat said gently when Andy said she’d changed. “And I hope I’ve changed, too. For the better.”

@lestrange

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Andy closed her lips tightly together and nodded, her eyes welling with tears again. She nodded, not speaking for several moments, just looking into Natalias eyes. "You have," she finally choked out. Then, her mind flickered to Nik. To when she had cut him open and left him bleeding in his apartment. She saw him in Natalias eyes. And suddenly, she felt sick. She blinked and gently pulled back, closing her eyes tightly for a moment before opening them again, but looking at the piano instead of at Nat. "I'm just glad we're family," she said, her voice slightly strained.

@natalia
(moment killer mwhaha)

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When Andy said that she had changed, Nat felt a fresh wave of tears well in her eyes. Changing was so hard sometimes, even though she was doing it for the people she loved, and the fact that someone had seen the ways she had become different meant the world to Nat. “Even if we weren’t,” Nat said with a small shrug of her shoulders, “I think we’ve learned this past year that blood doesn’t make family.” She knew that Andy and Nik didn’t always agree, and it was okay, Nat supposed, if Andy didn’t consider their brother her family. Nat herself still couldn’t bring herself to call Neville or Hannah her father or mother, so it was kind of the same thing.

@lestrange

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Andy's eyes were still welling up again, and when Natalia said that blood didn't make family she let some of the tears fall. She nodded, lifting a hand to wipe her eyes, still staring at the piano. "You're right," she said, nodding. Then she turned back to Natalia. "And you have James," she said, her tone finding someone happiness lacing through it. "And I have Phil. And he'll be back next week," she said, breathing out a sigh of relief. She moved then, sitting on the piano bench next to Natalia. She looked over at her again, "I think I'll marry him." She said this incredibly calmly and confidently.

@natalia